Here at Heart of Christ, they know how to do Christmas! This month, I have had the opportunity to travel around and deliver Christmas gifts to children in the mountains of Honduras. It’s been an absolutely incredible experience, but it hasn’t always been the most joyful of experiences.
Going into Christmas present distribution, my hopes were sky high. I had been told about children who had only received a pencil, but yet they were overjoyed to receive ANYTHING for Christmas. I was ready to bring joy and presents to all!
On our first day of distribution, I was assigned to hand out all of the gifts for the boys. As they began to line up, I could barely sit still because I was so excited. After packing so many of these gift bags, I knew that these kids were receiving candy AND a toy, and I knew they would be too excited for words. As I began handing out gifts to the line of little boys, I saw the joy I was expecting from some, but others were unhappy with the bags they received. I even had a swarm of little boys with airplanes who relentlessly tried to swap their gifts for other things that their friends had received. They were unhappy with the gifts that I had to share with them. My heart broke.
As I sat back and thought about the situation, I was puzzled as to why I was bothered so much. I’m sure there were many times that I was unhappy with gifts as a child. I know there’s been times where I was a brat about presents that I received or didn’t receive. Why was this any different?
I realized that this was more than an issue of silly Christmas gift exchanges. This is an issue of the heart. How many times have I looked at the gifts and qualities that the Father has graciously given me and asked Him to exchange it for something else? How many times have I become unhappy with the things that the Lord has given to me after I compare them to something that He gave to someone else? ouch. That one hit hard.
In Isaiah, the Lord talks about those who make plans without including the Lord. It refers to us as clay and God as the potter who fashioned us.
“You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘You did not make me’? Can the clay say the the potter, ‘You know nothing’?”
Isaiah 29:16
Who are we to question how the potter has made us? Who are we to nullify everything that the Lord has given us because we think He gave someone else something that was better? I think that comparison breaks the Father’s heart. He sees us fully. He made us with great intentions, and He knows that our specific skills can be used for His glory in a way that others cannot.
How many times have you had a gift that the Lord has given you that you wanted to change? How many times have you compared yourself to others? The thing is, God has a plan for you, God has a plan for me, and God has a plan for those little boys with airplanes. I challenge you not to make your New Years resolutions about weight loss or your finances, but to cast out comparison and hone the gifts that the Lord specifically gives to you to further his kingdom.
As for me, I will also continue to unearth the seeds of comparison that so often leak into my life everyday.
Much love,
Jor
P.S. I have super cute pictures from gift distributions, but bad wifi 🙁 I will update this blog when I get a better connection <3
